The Twitteraholic’s Ultimate Guide to tweets, hashtags, and all things Twitter

Most educators who learn to use Twitter effectively say they learn more from their personal learning network (PLN) on Twitter than they’ve achieved from any other forms of professional development or personal learning.

Unfortunately educators often dismiss Twitter, or fail to see the value of Twitter, when they’re first introduced to Twitter.

Our aim of this post is to provide all the information you need to learn how to use Twitter effectively as an educator.

We regularly update this post with new information. This post was last updated June, 2014.

About the Twitter-a-holic’s Ultimate Guide

The original Twitter-a-holic’s Guide was published in July, 2010 when I’d just returned from attending a large conference overseas and realized that while a conference can make you feel really overwhelmed and alone — especially amongst the 13,000 ed tech professionals participants who attend it each year — I never felt alone.

Why?

Because for Twitterers conferences are like walking into a big party where you know everyone and are meeting up with old friends.

So I decided to share advice on using twitter to help others since I’ve been using Twitter since March 2007 and wrote the post with assistance from my twitter network and readers comments — thanks everyone who helped!

For those who have heard of twitter and have dismissed it thinking ‘”Twitter is for people with too much time on their hands” — think again!

Educators are connecting with each other on Twitter and using it like a lunch room that’s open 24/7 whenever they need help, assistance or just want to connect with others.

The post you are currently reading is an updated version of the original post which I published in 2012. We’ve now redirect all traffic from the original post to this post; and regularly update this post. This post was last updated June, 2014.

Introduction to Twitter

Twitter is an online social network and micro-blogging service that enables users to send and read tweets on their computer and mobile devices, in the form of text messages limited to 140 characters.

Common misconceptions are that twitter is: for celebrities, sports stars and journalists: like posting an update to Facebook; or like an email where you need to read everything.

Twitter is about connecting with others as part of a global community who will help you with your learning, improving your lessons, helping your students connect with other students and content experts.

Before you start following other people

Complete your bio and add your blog/website URL (if applicable) — people use this information to decide whether they follow you. Focus on providing information that helps others work out if you have similar interests/background.

Upload your twitter profile picture — people are less likely follow those using the default avatar as it’s common for a spammer to use a default avatar.

Don’t start following people on twitter until you’ve published some tweets! Most people won’t follow a person who hasn’t updated.

Participate or check out the different weekly hashtag conversations. They are a great way to find new people to follow (refer to hashtag information below).

Check out new followers before following. Look at their bio, how many they are following, how many follow them and their latest tweets. This information helps you work out if they are the type of people you like to follow.

Tips for engaging in the conversation

Twitter is very similar to a face to face conversation. Think of Twitter as a conversation with work colleagues in the lunch room. A mixture of small talk, relationship building, helping others, getting help and sharing is just as important on Twitter as it is in the lunch room.

Be patient. It takes time to build your Twitter network.

Use it everyday for four weeks, even if only for 5 minutes per day. Some people find that setting a goal of 15 minutes a day for the first few months helps.

Remember twitter is a two way conversation — you need to answer as much as you ask but most importantly share, share, share.

Participate and say something, anything. Don’t always expect people to always answer. It does depend on how many you follow and what you’re asking.

Get involved in the conversation. Don’t be afraid to reply and if you don’t get a response back, don’t be offended. It happens — you’ll soon see those that do/don’t engage in conversations

Learn the twitter language and how to use it well i.e. @, DM, #, hashtags, RT

Use a twitter client where possible and not the web interface.

Avoid using up all 140 characters as it makes Retweeting harder

Remember online is forever. If you didn’t want it online don’t say it in the first place.

Intro to Twitter language

an @reply is used when a person is having a conversation with another twitterer. An @reply starts with the @username of the person who the tweet is directed at.

You’ll only see @replies between two people if you follow both twitterers or you are looking at another person’s tweet timeline.

Mentions is any Twitter update that contains “@username” anywhere in the body of a tweet. For example, you use @username within a tweet when referring to specific twitter users. All your twitter followers are alerted to tweets including @username provided the @username isn’t placed at the start of the tweet and the person who you mention isn’t using a protected Twitter account.

Your @replies and mentions are located under Mentions on the Notification page.

DM (also known as Direct Message)

Direct messages are private messages sent from one Twitterer to another. They can’t be seen by other users.

You can only send a direct message to a person who follows you and they can only reply to your direct message if you also follow them.

It’s bad twitter etiquette to send a direct message to someone that follows you that you don’t follow back — they can feel uncomfortable asking you to follow them when you initiated the direct message.

Direct messages are accessed by clicking on the envelope icon in the top right navigation bar via the web or on the Twitter app on your mobile device.

# (Hashtags)

Any word starting with the “#” hash (pound) symbol is known as a hash tag.

Hash tags make it easier to search and follow the twitter conversations on specific topics.

Any tweet starting with “RT” means someone is re-tweeting some one else’s tweet.

Retweets are used to quickly share tweets by someone else that might contain links, news or anything you think your twitter followers will find interesting.

Retweeting is an important way twitterers share information across the Internet.

You won’t always see “RT” at the start of a retweet as it does depend on what twitter client you are using. Some clients enclose the Tweet in quotes while other clients may add via and the original twitterer’s username at the end of the tweet.

If you are a blogger than it’s important to add a Retweet option to your blog posts, such as AddThis Social Share or Share Options, as Twitter is an essential way people now learn about posts worth reading.

MT (also known as a modified tweet)

Any tweet starting with “MT” means someone is re-tweeting some one else’s tweet but have modified the tweet. A re-tweet might be modified to make the tweet fit into the 140 characters or to add your extra thoughts to the conversation.

Used to quickly share tweets by someone else that might contain links, news or anything you think your twitter followers will find interesting while making your followers aware that you have modified the tweet.

Retweets and modified retweets are an important way twitterers share information across the Internet.

Favorite

Favorites are represented by a small star icon next to the tweet and are normally used when a twitterer wants to save (refer) to a tweet later.

When you favorite a tweet the original person who posted the tweet is notified that you like their tweet.

You access the tweets you have favorited by clicking on Me in the top right navigation bar via the web or on your Twitter app on your mobile device and clicking on Favorites.

Search (Discover)

Learning how to search twitter well is a key skill for getting the most out of Twitter.

You can search for any person, keyword, hashtag etc using the search box in the admin bar via the we or use the # Discover section.

The # Discover section is all about discovering new content. Here you’ll find curated tweets from people who you don’t follow and can search for content. When geolocation is activated (Settings > Account) you’ll also see curated tweets from what going on near you in real time.

Try it out for yourself! Next time there’s an important news story locally or globally go to the # Discover section add the name of the location or event and check out the latest tweets as it is being reported.

Notifications and Mentions

The Notifications tab offers a simple way to see how others on Twitter are interacting with you.

Just click on Notifications in the top left navigation bar via the web or on the Twitter app on your mobile device. and you see all tweets directed to you (@replies and mentions), new followers. your Tweets that have been favorited by other users and any twitter lists you’ve been added to.

Click on the Mentions tab on the Notifications page if you only want to see your @replies and mentions.

Public vs Protected Accounts

By default, when you sign up for Twitter your account is public and any one can see your tweets.

Some twitter users prefer to use Protected twitter accounts where their updates are kept private — where only approved followers can see their tweet updates. You change your privacy options in Settings > Security and Privacy.

If you choose to use a Protected Twitter account then you need to understand there are people who won’t follow some one who uses a protected twitter account.

For those who won’t follow protected twitter accounts it is important to understand there are numerous reasons why an educator use protected account and it might not be related to concerns of posting an inappropriate tweet.

It is also important to be aware that if you tweet to several people in the same tweet, and one person has a protected account, the other people won’t see your tweet if they aren’t being followed by the protected Twitter user’s account.

TweetDeck and Hootsuite are popular because of their ability to add extra columns makes it easy to filter and keep up with conversations using the columns. You can sign into TweetDeck and Hootsuite using your web browser.

Getting Started with TweetDeck

TweetDeck is one of the most popular desktopTwitter client because it’s ability to add extra columns makes it easy to filter and keep up with conversations using the columns.

The other benefits of TweetDeck is it allows you to manage multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts, using your TweetDeck account, and synchronize your configuration when you use TweetDeck on different computers and mobile devices. No need to reset up your columns of @, searches, inbox, hashtags, lists and so on again!

Getting started with the Twitter app

There are a wide range of Twitter apps you can use on your mobile devices however the most commonly used is Twitter’s own Twitter app ( iOS | Android ).

Refer to the following video tutorials to learn how to use the Twitter app. I was unable to find any good video tutorials for Androids and I recommend you watch the video tutorials for iOS devices as the Android Twitter app version is very similar to the iOS version.

How to Post Links

It’s common to see links posted on Twitter appear as shortened links because it makes it easier to include a URL within the 140 character Twitter limit.

Previously if you wanted shortened a link when writing a tweet on the Twitter.com web interface you had to use a URL shortening services, such as tinyurl.com and bit.ly, and then paste the shortened link into the tweet box on Twitter.com.

Twitter has now introduced automatic link shortening which means you no longer need to use a third party service to shorten your links. All links posted into the compose box on Twitter.com, TweetDeck and their mobile Twitter apps are automatically shortened.

Please note some twitter clients automatically shorten links for you using services such as bit.ly.

While you can continue to use another URL shortening service the benefits of using Twitter’s automatic link shortening include:

It’s quicker.

Unlike other URL shorteners, Twitter’s shortener, t.co, creates a link that is a shortened version of the original link and includes the full domain name so your followers will know the site they are going to when they click the link.

Shortened links are a common method used to hacked Twitter accounts . URLs converted by Twitter’s link service are checked against potentially dangerous sites — this is designed to help protect users from malicious, phishing and offensive links.

Connecting using Hashtags

A hashtag is any word on twitter that starts with the “#” hash (pound) sign.

Hash tags make it easier to search and follow the twitter conversations on specific topics.

How it works is everyone agrees to use a standard hash tag in their tweets when they tweet about a specific topic. Then you set up a search for that hashtag using your twitter client, or use twitter search tools such as Twitter Search, Twitterfall or Tagboard to track the conversation.

Hashtags are also commonly used at conferences to share thoughts on presentations, organize meet ups and coordinate after parties. For example, the hashtag used at ISTE 2013 conference was #iste13

Participating in Twitter Chats

Twitter chats are where educators meet at a set ‘meeting time’ to engage in conversations by sending out tweets on a topic using a designated hashtag during a specific time on a certain day.

During the twitter chat you’ll see educators tweet their responses in real time. The best way to participate in a Twitter chat is to set up twitter search for the hashtag in TweetDeck, Hootsuite or in the Twitter app on your mobile device.

#engchat – English freiendly version of #edchat (learn more here). Takes place every Monday at 7-8 PM EST (GMT).

#kinderchat – for those working with small children (learn more here). Takes place on Mondays 9.00 PM EST (USA) and 8:30 PM EST (USA).

#lmchat – For those interested in the topic of learning from one another and who want to discuss how to help other people learn in formal, informal, social and mobile ways (learn more here). Takes place Thursdays at 8:30-9:30 PM EST (USA)

#spedchat – for special education (see more here). Takes place on Tuesdays from 9:00-10:00 PM EST (USA).

#ukfechat – for UK educators interested in further education discussions (see more here). Takes place on Thursdays 9:00-10:00 PM (GMT).

This is a ‘must watch’ video for any one who wants to host a Twitter chat because Vicki Davis shows examples of schedule tweets she has set up in HootSuite to help participants (you’ll see these examples at 2:25 minutes into the video). HootSuite works very similar to TweetDeck.

How to create and use Twitter Lists

A great aspect of twitter is you can organize other twitter users into groups called ‘lists’. When you view a list, you’ll see a twitter stream of all the users that are included in that group.

The benefits of twitter lists include:

# 1 They help you organize who you’re following

Lists let you organize your followers into different groups of people and/or areas of interest. Instead trying listen to what all your twitter followers are saying; you can focus on the key conversations by the main people whose tweets you want to read.

This reduces the noise created when you’re following lots of users; saving you time, makes your life easier and lets you quickly connect with those you most want to interact with.

Twitter clients and the Twitter.com web interface are designed to let you quickly check your twitter lists.

#2 They help other twitter users

Twitter lists can be public or private. A public twitter list can be viewed by anyone and other twitter users can quickly follow your list or choose people from your list to follow.

A private list and who is on that list can only be viewed by you.

Public list also highlights who other twitter users recommend as worth following. If you look at a user’s profile in TweetDeck it displays the number of lists a user has been added to.

Twitter lists are handy if you’re running a workshop on using Twitter, or want to encourage your students to follow specific twitter users. It’s as simple as creating the list and then getting them to either follow the list or the users on the list.

Tips:

You don’t need to be following some one to add them to a list.

Subscribing to someone’s list doesn’t mean you now following all users on that list. You’ll just see the tweets from users when you view that list. You need to click follow next a user if you want to follow them to have their tweets appear in your twitter timeline.

Creating a list in Tweetdeck as simple as:

1. Click on the Lists icon in Tweetdeck.

2. Click on Create a list.

3. Add the name of your list, a short description (optional) and choose if it is public or private (only you can see a private list).

4. Click Save.

5. Add / remove users to / from your list by selecting ‘Add or remove from list’ under the More Link under a tweet.

Or using the ‘Add or remove from list’ option on a user’s profile page.

You find users to add by:

searching for them

using their profile page

looking through your follower / following list or other twitter users follower / following list

Customizing your profile

Twitter launched a new profile design in April, 2014 and one of the key changes was a larger profile image and header image that spans the width of your screen. Prior to this change you would personalize your profile design using a background image. With this new Twitter profile design, background image is no longer needed, because it isn’t visible on your profile page and the header image is now how you make your account stand out from others.

The background image still shows up when someone views an individual tweet or a list you’ve created however most recommend you change to a solid background color if you had been using a background image previously. You can remove your background image in Settings > Design.

You add or change your header photo as follows:

1. Click on the Me tab in the top left of the navigation bar via the web.

2. Click on Edit Profile.

3. Click the camera icon over your header image to change your header photo. Select to Upload photo or Remove, or simply drag and drop a photo into this section.

Recommended dimensions for header photos are 1500 x 500 pixels.

The header is visible when someone visits your profile from any device; and changes with screen size.

The header has visible and invisible areas that change depending on if your profile is viewed on a computer, a tablet or a smartphone. Refer to this header template to learn more.

What to do if your twitter account is hacked

There are Twitter worms that work by hacking users account by stealing their account credentials when the user clicks on the link. Unexpected tweets or sudden unintended DMs being sent from your account are indicators your account might have been compromised.

Zite – similar to Flipboard and collects the content of social networks and websites and then presents them in a magazine format on an iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch

Shiftlinks – creates an RSS feed of your links posted by your twitter followers which you can subscribe to using an feed reader such as Google Reader. This works works well when following a small number of people.

Paper-li can be set up to send an automatic tweet of your daily newspaper and identify the source of your top stories of the day based on RTs, Favorites etc.

Flipboards is very popular for any one using an mobile device because it allows you to easily read, share, bookmark and retweet links from within the Flipboard app. Learn more about using Flipboard here.

Cool Twitter tools

Using Twitter with students

Educators aren’t just using Twitter for their personal learning; they are also using it in innovative ways in their classrooms. We’ve seen a significant increase in the number of class and school twitter accounts. You’ll find a comprehensive list of Twitter class accounts here.

Here are some tips for using Twitter with students:

Set up a classroom twitter account separate from your personal twitter account. Most teachers allow their students to log into the class twitter account during class to compose tweets but the tweets aren’t allowed to be sent until checked by the teacher or an adult.

If you decide to use a hashtag make sure it isn’t being used by others.

Carefully select who you follow as students will see all tweets by any account you are following. Drew Frank’s Classroom Twitter list is a good place to find other class twitter accounts to follow.

Make sure parents are aware you are using Twitter in class and check your school’s policies to find out if parent’s need to sign a permission form. Karen Lirenman’s permission form is located here.

Here’s where you can find out more about using Twitter in your Classroom:

Hello, I’m facing problem Right now is about replies and mention, if I tag or mention any one of my friens ,thy did not receive my tweet, even thy not receive notification , but all tweets I done is appearing in my profile timeline , can you help me ?

When I send a message on Twitter, our organization’s profile photo is sent with the message, not the photo I uploaded with the message. This just started happening last week. I need the photo that is attached to be sent. I hope you can help. Thanks.

hi again, i do have another question that i think was a little confusing the last time i asked. is there anyway of knowing if the person that i tweeted received my tweet or not. like say if i twitted you, but you didn’t tweet me back, how would i know that you even received my tweet in the first place. i have been tweeting even my friends and twitter support, and i have no idea if they have received my tweets or not.

hi, i was wondering a few things. i have seen someone’s twitter page & it did have tweets on it originally, but now it doesn’t, does that mean rather he has deleted them or has he blocked me. second question. i tweet people pretty often, and they don’t usually retweet or tweet me back and that is perfectly find. the thing i’m confused about is, how do i know that they have received my tweets at all. and if they don’t receive them then what does that mean. thank you.
tammy

Hi Tammy, if you go to the person’s page logged out from your Twitter account you will be able to see if he is using a locked Twitter account i.e. only people who he follows can see the tweets, if he has deleted you or has blocked you. Are you tweeting people using the @ and their twitter name? For example, if you sent a tweet at me then it would be @suewaters

It really depends on the person. If you look at their timeline it indicates how active they are on twitter and how likely they are to reply to people. If someone hasn’t tweeted for months than it is unlikely they are checking your tweet and would reply. Similarly, if someone generally doesn’t like to reply to people it is unlikely they will reply back; or if they only reply to a few people they are less likely to reply. It also depends on what you are asking someone.

Retweeting is all about how many people are following you and how valuable they find the information you share. I have a large following so I am more likely to have my tweets retweeted than someone that has 200 followers or less.

Hi Sue,
Thanks for the very useful guide. We are building a twitter tool and I have some questions on the best way to send requests over twitter. Would you mind if I contact you to ask some questions?
Thanks

Thank you so much for this post. I am going to teach a PD class about Twitter at my district and I plan to share this post with the teachers. I had been wondering how I could get them started with some suggestions of people to follow, when I read the section of your post about creating and subscribing to lists. I had completely forgotten about that feature! Thanks again.

HI. My Hashtags do not show up in search when a website link is in same tweet. When I remove the link, #’s show up. I have used many url mods like bit.ly – no change. When I copy/pasate a followers tweet with link/# it still fails to show in search for my tweet. And, my settings are “Public.”

Hi Chris, I can totally understand your frustrations. We’ve had several emails into Edublogs support reporting the same issue. For some reason Search Twitter isn’t indexing hashtags properly for some users (or maybe for some hashtags). We did send tweets at Twitter support and received no response. I’m sure they are probably aware of the issue. You could try submitting a support request by their contact form to get them to explain why there is an issue.